January 24, 2016

ACA: AEC Modify Tools, Part 6, AEC Merge

The AecLineworkMerge command can be found on the Home ribbon tab, on the Modify panel flyout, by selecting the Merge tool from the Merge/Subtract flyout. If the Merge tool is not displayed on the Merge/Subtract flyout, select the right side of the split button (down arrow icon) to deploy the flyout and choose the Merge tool. Or, with no command active, you can right click in the drawing window, and choose AEC Modify Tools > Merge from the context menu.

The AecLineworkMerge command is used to modify the extents of closed Polylines, Circles, Hatches, AEC Polygons, Mass Element Extrusions that have an embedded profile and Spaces, as well as Block References which contain any of these objects by "merging" the original object with one or more other objects that define the change to the perimeter. In lieu of selecting one or more objects to merge into the initially selected object(s), you can also specify a rectangular area by selecting its opposite corners, and that rectangular area will be merged into the the intially selected object(s). You will be given the option to erase the object(s) to merge (the object or objects selected at the second prompt for the object(s) that define the changed perimeter); the default is No, which leaves the object(s) to merge in the drawing file.

If you select multiple objects at the first prompt, the AecLineworkMerge command is applied to each of those independently, using the objects selected at the second prompt on each of those selected at the first prompt.
Here are some additional notes regarding the AecLineworkMerge command:

Open linework cannot be used as the linework to add to (first prompt), neither can MText, Text, Ellipses nor Ellipse Arcs. The command will allow you to select an open Polyline as the linework to add, but will not make any change to it.

MText, Text, Ellipses and Ellipse Arcs can be selected as (part of) the objects to merge. For MText and Text, the bounding box of the text is used as a rectangle to be merged.

The type of the initial object selected will determine the type of the merged object. Allowed AEC objects will result in an AEC object of that same type, as do Hatches. Closed Polylines and Circles will result in closed Polylines.

Mass Elements with a shape other than "Extrusion" and Mass Element Extrusions that have an external Profile can be selected as linework to add to, but will not affected by the AecLineworkMerge command. These types of Mass Elements can be selected as an object to merge.

If a Block Reference is selected as linework to add to, only those nested objects within the block on which the AecLineworkMerge command works will be affected.

Attributes within a Block Reference will not be affected by the AecLineworkMerge command.

If a Block Reference is selected as linework to add to, it has nested elements that can be affected by the AecLineworkMerge command and it is the only instance of that Block Reference in the drawing, then the original block definition will be redefined to include the effects of the merge. If at least one instance of the Block Reference remains unaffected by the merge, then the original block definition will remain unchanged and the affected instance(s) will become instance(s) of new, anonymous block definition(s).

If a Block Reference is selected as linework to add to and it has multiple nested elements which can be affected by the AecLineworkMerge command, the merge will be applied to each of those elements independently.

Multi-View Blocks can be selected as linework to add to, but will not be affected by the command.

If the active View Block of a Multi-View Block contains linework that forms a closed boundary or contributes to a closed boundary, it can selected as an item to merge.

Selecting an associative Hatch as linework to add to will result in a non-associative Hatch, regardless of whether or not the boundary of the Hatch is also selected as linework to add to in the same AecLineworkMerge command.

Associative Spaces, Walls, Doors, Windows and Door/Window Assemblies can be selected as linework to add to, but will not be affected by the command. These objects can be used as object to merge. Non-associative Spaces can be modified by the AecLineworkMerge command when selected as linework to add to.

The object(s) to merge do not have to form a closed loop. If multiple objects are selected, they do not have to meet endpoint to endpoint, although the results may be unexpected if there is overlap.

The object(s) to merge do not necessarily have to intersect the linework to add to object(s). If the linework to add to objects support it (), a single object with two disconnected parts will be formed (Hatches, AEC Polygons, Mass Element Extrusions that have an embedded profile and Spaces). Closed Polylines and Circles will generate a closed polyline around the object(s) to merge or indicated rectangle, but will remain separate from original objects. (If a Circle is the linework to add to, and the object(s) to merge do not intersect it, it will remain a Circle.) If a Block References is selected as the linework to add to, and the object(s) to merge do not intersect it, there will be no change (unless you delete the object(s) to merge, in which case that object/those objects will be deleted).

There are object types and combinations of objects within a Block Reference that I did not test. When using the AecLineworkMerge command in a situation that you have not previously encountered, you may want to use the Mark option of the UNDO command, so that you can easily UNDO Back to the point before the command was used if you get unexpected results.

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About Me

I am an architect employed by EwingCole in its Philadelphia office, currently serving as the Design Technology Manager. In addition to using ADT/ACA and Revit on the job, I serve as a moderator in the AUGI Forums and formerly served as a facilitator for the Autodesk ADT/ACA Discussion Groups.